Game 7: Comeback complete as Cardinals win crown

St. Louis Cardinals' Yadier Molina reacts in front of Texas Rangers' Michael Young after Molina hit an RBI single during the seventh inning of Game 7 of baseball's World Series Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
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St. Louis Cardinals' Yadier Molina reacts in front of Texas Rangers' Michael Young after Molina hit an RBI single during the seventh inning of Game 7 of baseball's World Series Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
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That was all Carpenter allowed. He struck out Adrian Beltre and retired Cruz on a groundout.

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Game 7 of the World Series. The most exciting night in baseball.

Except for last night, that is. What could possibly top that?

Following one of the most thrilling finishes in postseason history, the Rangers and Cardinals are back at it tonight, less than 20 hours after Freese's 11th-inning homer for St. Louis pushed the Series to the limit.

Truly, a Fall Classic.

Winner takes all tonight. First pitch is 8:05 p.m. EDT at Busch Stadium.

The Cardinals seem to have everything on their side - momentum, history and their No. 1 pitcher on the mound. After much debate about what manager Tony La Russa would do, Carpenter is set to start on three days' rest for the second time in his career.

The first time was Game 2 of the NL division series in Philadelphia, and that one didn't go very well. But the 36-year-old right-hander says he learned a few things about how to handle pitching on short rest.

The home team has won eight straight Game 7s in the World Series, a streak started by the Cardinals in 1982 against Milwaukee. This is the first time the Series has gone the distance since 2002, when the Angels beat San Francisco.

Harrison gets the ball for Texas. Let down by his defense, he was pulled in the fourth inning of a Game 3 defeat.

Twice, the Rangers were one strike away from their first World Series championship Thursday night. They couldn't nail it down.

Now, after such a painful defeat, can they possibly recover? The last team to win Game 7 of the World Series on the road was the Pittsburgh Pirates at Baltimore in 1979.

Texas hasn't lost consecutive games since Aug. 23-25.

Almost lost in all the back-and-forth excitement Thursday night were injuries to several key players. Cruz strained his right groin and Napoli twisted his left ankle, but both Rangers sluggers are in the Game 7 lineup.

Matt Holliday, however, was removed from the St. Louis roster with a bruised right wrist. Craig starts in left field in place of Holliday.

La Russa also dropped a slumping Furcal to seventh in the lineup and Schumaker to eighth. Second baseman Ryan Theriot is at the top of the order and Craig bats second in front of Pujols.

Holliday's absence might not be such a terrible thing for the Cardinals at this stage.

Sure, it shortens their lineup. He's a dangerous hitter and a legitimate All-Star. But he really struggled with his swing during the World Series (.158) and he hurt the Cardinals with his glove and on the bases in Game 6, too.

With Holliday out, Freese moves up to fifth in the lineup, perhaps providing better protection for Pujols and Berkman. Freese has been a clutch hitter throughout the postseason, never more so than Thursday night.

Speedy outfielder Adron Chambers, a rookie, replaced Holliday on the active roster. Fox sideline reporter Ken Rosenthal says Chambers was grabbing a bite to eat with his girlfriend at a TGI Friday's when he saw the scroll on television saying he'd been added to the roster for Game 7. That's how he found out.

Clear skies at Busch Stadium. The temperature is 51 degrees, with a little light wind.